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I posted this at 'Off-Strip Hotels & Casinos' as well, but was told to post to Trip Reports instead, sorry. Mel

SAM’S TOWN ROOM #969: Plenty of shampoo , bath crystals, bubble bath, huge beach-like bath towels, and wonderful peach/papaya scented soap. Tried to gamble between midnight and 7 AM, but with construction being done during the day, we heard sawing all day long on the 10th floor, right above us, so that didn’t work. Good sized tub, lots of hot water and the nicest room we’ve stayed in, compared to the Lady Luck, Fitzgerald’s, and the Plaza. Main Street Station & the Golden Nugget rooms were equal to Sam's Town or better.

SUPER WALMART is a five minute walk right across the street. Exit the building at Subway's and Calamity Jane's and cross a four lane highway and then the WalMart parking lot. DO NOT EXIT anywhere else, the brother-in-law walked half a mile before having to turn around and circle the casino. The lanes of the highway are divided by a section of plants & very large rock/crushed concrete, if crossing elsewhere. Walgreens is about a block up the street on the same side as Sam's Town.

PANHANDLERS: Had one young guy approach me the first day shaking like a leaf and asking ‘Can I ask you a question… can you spare some cash’ very softly. He approached me the second day and got as far as ‘Can I ask you a question’ when I told him I’d already been asked the day before. The third day he approached me, I told him that I wanted my money back from the first day – with interest! He wasn’t very polite…or soft spoken that day.

FOOD:FIRELIGHT BREAKFAST BUFFET: It was a free meal <$4.99 from player’s card points>, but I wasn’t impressed with the food or selection, and I’m not hard to please as I’ve been perfectly satisfied eating a hotdog for lunch from the Mermaid. WILLY AND JOSE’S: Two enchiladas with beans and rice for $10. I’d heard that this was supposed to be the BEST Mexican food and we were really looking forward to a good meal, but I’ve had better and more authentic Mexican food in Texas and everyone was really disappointed. The chili over the enchiladas was from a can and the beans probably were, too. I don’t know who the cook was, but the only thing authentic about it was the Mexican waiter & waitress. I’m sure they could have cooked something better. The PANDA EXPRESS in the food court was great with huge servings for $5.50. Brother-in-law said that the steak and egg special at the FRESH HARVEST CAFÉ was great, but he paid more for a small glass of juice than he did for the meal.

SLOTS: Bank of machines between the FIRELIGHT BUFFET and the large PENNY WAY sign: there were eight machines total, four on either side and we won with multipliers on every one except the Butterfly Sevens. I cashed out around $500 from the Triple Double Diamond machine #4369 at the end of the row with a total input of $80. I finally left after 5 hours of play, from 7 AM – 1 PM, when I lost the $51 I had built up, lost another $20, and then lost two $5 bills. :confused2:

Triple Double Diamond penny machine #4369, across from ‘Penny Way’: 9 lines with 20 coins played per line for a $1.80 maximum bet. Put in $20 at the start of each session and cashed out with $101, $153, $185, $94, and more. The machine went cold around 1 PM and I lost $51 in the machine and another $30 before I quit.

Super Times Pay penny machine #4372, across from ‘Penny Way’: played on $20 input and won $131, $98, and more with the 2x, 3x, and 4x in the center row and Triple Bars on either side. :evillaugh

The next day, my husband was up $300 at the same bank of machines on the Super Times Pay machine #4372 and the brother-in-law up $200 on the Triple Double Diamond machine #4369. I couldn’t make a cent the second day at that bank of machines and ended up making $100 on a Open the Vault machine #5482, which I promptly lost again. But, the Brother-in-law and husband played Super Times Pay machine #2200 on $20 and won $130 & $160; Triple Red Hot: $20 in and $100 out; Triple Double Diamond: $20 in and $260 out.

EXPLAIN THIS TO ME: We brought $500 each for the slots, and I had $800 in cash at one time. I played on a total of $1300 the first day and gave several $100s to the husband when he was down. At the end of day two, I had $20 left and the husband's up $1200… how does it happen? Did the hubby take my cash? I dunno, but it happens every time we come to Vegas…

Luckily, the third day we went Downtown and I won several hundred dollars at Golden Nugget machines. Sorry, we raced out to see a show and I forgot to get the numbers and names. I know the machines are to the right of the building when walking into the casino, there is a wall of perhaps 4 machines RIGHT NEXT TO THE BAR. I was on the machine nearest the bar and another lady two machines away from me. She had $600+ in credits and I cashed out after 15 minutes with maybe $180 after slipping a $20 to the machine.

Won over $100 twice on the Open the Vault machines; I only located two of these machines in the casino. One machine is located in front of the PENNY WAY sign and I couldn’t find my way back to the other machine later.

BIL and I both won over $100 on the Jackalope machine #6117 under the Penny Way Sign that sits against the back wall.

Main Street Station Room #1215: Although check-in is at 4 PM, we were given a room at 11 AM, immediately upon walking into the building. Very nice room with the same soaps & shampoo sizes as Sam's Town. Elevator was VERY SLOW and if you were headed down, it seemed like ANYONE could pull you back up a floor. We spent 15 minutes going back and forth between the 8th and 6th floors while people waiting to get on laughed and we steamed.

DRINKS FROM THE GIFT SHOP NEAR CHECK IN DESK: $1.75 water, $2.00 soda, and $3.00 wine coolers & beer. Cheaper at Walgreens up the street. :evillaugh

FOOD:Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery: Very noisy, but the grilled chicken sandwich w/avocado & the soup <clam chowder> & sandwich <fish> special was good. Asked for a take out cup for the drinks and got a HUGE refill that was great! California’s MARKET STREET CAFÉ: Missed the specials and had to go with the Chinese Chicken <half of a chicken deep fried with a ginger sauce on it>, mashed potatoes, peas/carrots and peaches(?), BIL had a hotdog, and hubby had chicken friend steak. Specials that we had on previous trips were better than these manu items.

Upper Deck is still closed & I'm dying to know if it's going to re-open with the graveyard specials! We usually eat there at least once a day when we're in Vegas!

SLOTS: Once again we played and won on the Wheel of Fortune $0.25 machine next to the tables. $20 in and $150, $50, $100 out. BIL also won $195 off of the Wheel of Fortune machine on the back wall with $10 in once.

TRIP NEGATIVES: After the third day at Sam’s Town, we missed downtown, being able to step outside and into another casino, all of the different shops, and having 30+ different eateries to choose from. We took the free shuttle back and forth from the Strip, Downtown, & Sam's Town, but it just wasn't the same. We couldn’t say, ‘Let’s take a break and hit the Flip Flop machines at the Fitz for a couple of hours before we eat or I don’t want to wait in line to eat, let’s grab a burger, hotdog, shrimp cocktail, or see what the hell is happening to the Upper Deck’. We liked Sam’s Town as the people are nice, the casino/rooms are clean, and are glad to have finally stayed here, but we miss the variety of downtown. We thought the theatre and bowling alley would be different, but we’ve never gone to see a movie while we were on vacation and didn’t this time either. I was also uncomfortable seeing parents dropping off kids at the theatre so they could gamble, hearing parents being told to get their kids off of the casino floor, and seeing kids sitting around outside of the Arcade, looking bored and unsupervised. Finally, there’s even a better variety of panhandler downtown, since the same panhandlers hit on you day after day at Sam’s Town, with the same sorry lines, they’re so bored they don’t even recognize you after hitting you three days in a row! After all of these years of vacationing in Vegas, staying downtown is like visiting relatives that you ACTUALLY like or going to your parent’s home as an adult and staying in your old room, it SEEMS small, cramped, the pillows may be lumpy, but you trust it, it’s familiar, and you don’t miss it until your gone.

AIRPORT SLOTS: Once again the husband and BIL played the Wheel of Fortune & Red, White, and Blue Seven machines at Gate A and won. $20 in with $250 & $95 out.

Downtown is the best. I play blackjack, and enjoy the downtown casinos much better than the strip. I know several blackjack dealers by name downtown, but can't think of any on the strip. Walking around on Freemont is like a home away from home.

Bincheros: I agree completely. In fact, I wouldn't go to Vegas nearly as often (if at all) if I had to stay and play on the Strip. However, I'm beginning to think that I should quit praising downtown and off-Strip least I actually influence someone. Just think what would happen if hoards of Strip people became enlightened to the better games, atmosphere, and values. Good grief, downtown would mutate into the same monster that's devoured the Strip!

I think it has happened to the GN. The rest of downtown is still "downtown" but the Nugget is different. I think the bad BJ rules might be the begining of the end of this casino. I hope they figure that out and go back to the regular downtown rules.

Main Street Station Room #1215: Although check-in is at 4 PM, we were given a room at 11 AM, immediately upon walking into the building. Very nice room with the same soaps & shampoo sizes as Sam's Town. Elevator was VERY SLOW and if you were headed down, it seemed like ANYONE could pull you back up a floor. We spent 15 minutes going back and forth between the 8th and 6th floors while people waiting to get on laughed and we steamed.

FOOD:Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery: Very noisy, but the grilled chicken sandwich w/avocado & the soup <clam chowder> & sandwich <fish> special was good. Asked for a take out cup for the drinks and got a HUGE refill that was great!

TRIP NEGATIVES: After the third day at Samâ€™s Town, we missed downtown, being able to step outside and into another casino, all of the different shops, and having 30+ different eateries to choose from. We liked Samâ€™s Town as the people are nice, the casino/rooms are clean, and are glad to have finally stayed here, but we miss the variety of downtown. We thought the theatre and bowling alley would be different, but weâ€™ve never gone to see a movie while we were on vacation and didnâ€™t this time either. I was also uncomfortable seeing parents dropping off kids at the theatre so they could gamble, hearing parents being told to get their kids off of the casino floor, and seeing kids sitting around outside of the Arcade, looking bored and unsupervised.

Before 2000
Sam's Town had a lovely dining room called Diamond Lils, a happy hour
at the Roxy's bar where you could schmooz with some locals, a dance
hall upstairs, an evening gathering place for the younger crowd called
Final Score, a rotating bar in the atrium that rotated and the show in
the atrium that you quickly got tired of while having to listen to a
twittering bird. OK, the twittering bird was a downsider but what
the heck. Now what's left is a tiny Shepler's outlet to cowboy up
and Billy Bob's. Take me to the Main Street Station please, even
though they're both owned by the Boyd Group.

At the Main Street we've never had to wait for very long to get an
elevator. There's another one across the main hall that some folks
don't know about and therefore ignore. We've been guests at Main
Street Station for 13 times now and are returning in October and
sometimes welcome the noisy ambience of the Triple 7. When we
want a more romantic atmosphere we'll dine in the Pullman Grille
and certainly enjoy breakfasting in the gorgeous buffet room.
The Great Moments Room in the Vegas Club is just across the street!